House Endorses Snoop Bill

Just hours after the Senate approved its version of the anti-terrorism bill, House legislators followed suit by voting 339-79 to ease limits on wiretapping and Internet monitoring.

The big difference: The House attached an expiration date to the "USA Act" (PDF). The wiretap sections expire in December 2004 – unless the president decides it is in the "national interest" to extend them until December 2006.

During the five-hour debate, legislators complained that House leaders had forced a vote before anyone had a chance to review the 175-page bill. Early in the morning, top House Republicans met privately and abruptly agreed to use the Senate's anti-terrorism bill instead of a more moderate one that their colleagues had expected.

Democrats were the most strident critics of that decision. Barney Frank (D-Massachusetts) said: "What we have today is an outrageous procedure: A bill, drafted by a handful of people in secret, comes to us without a committee review and immune to amendment."

Frank was talking about a rule handed down from GOP leaders on Friday morning that banned any changes to the USA Act before the vote.

Jerrold Nadler (D-New York) said: "We're told we should vote right now before we've had a chance to read the bill. Well, why didn't we take up the committee bill on the House floor earlier this week?"

Last week, members of the House Judiciary committee had voted 36-0 for the "Patriot Act" with a two-year expiration date – but were informed Friday it wouldn't be up for a vote.

"To vote on a bill that may do violence to our liberties, that may go way beyond what we need legitimately to combat terrorism is an insult to the House and American people," said Nadler, whose district includes the World Trade Center complex decimated in the Sept. 11 attacks. "We may do something we may live to regret."

An attempt to send the USA Act back to the House Judiciary Committee for further review was shot down by a 345-73 vote.

Knowing how much President Bush and Attorney General Ashcroft want these additional powers, most Republicans were muted in their criticisms and generally spoke favorably of the USA Act.

Suggested Rep. Ric Keller (R-Florida): "Let us not allow the perfect to be the enemy of the good."

Rep. Christopher Shays (R-Connecticut) invoked images of the recent anthrax attacks: "Because I believe our country can face a chemical, biological or, heaven forbid, nuclear attack by terrorists, I believe this bill is necessary and we have no time to waste."

Even Rep. Bob Barr (R-Georgia), typically a staunch privacy warrior, said that while he wasn't happy with the USA Act, he would support it. "It is absolutely imperative we take very seriously the sunset provisions in this bill," Barr said.

Barr could have been angling for a seat on a prospective conference committee, which would be appointed to work out differences with the Senate. Another possibility is the Senate could enact the USA Act when its members return next week, automatically sending the bill to the president for his signature.

The House version of the USA Act – call it version 2.0 –does include some changes from the bill the Senate approved by a 96 to 1 vote. Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wisconsin) was the lone dissenter.

Among the differences: USA version 2.0 does not have the same anti-money laundering sections that are in the Senate bill. "I suggest we send it back to the committee from where it came," said Rep. John Conyers (D-Michigan). "Why? There is no money laundering provision in the bill in the House. Are you going to ask us to do this in conference? The administration itself wants this."

But all versions of the anti-terrorism legislation being considered in Congress are intrusive enough to worry privacy advocates.

Every bill – including the Patriot Act, USA Act 1.0 and USA Act 2.0 – would permit police to conduct Internet eavesdropping without a court order in some circumstances, allow federal prosecutors to imprison non-citizens for extended periods of time, and expand the power of a secret court that is used in foreign intelligence investigations.

President Bush has asked Congress for the additional surveillance and detention powers as a response to the deadly Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.